Chapter 58 - Puppy Love
"Young Master... what in the world happened...?"
"F-Frey...?"
With the tense situation resolved in an instant by me, Kania and Irina, collapsed on the ground, stared up at me in stunned silence.
"Are you two okay?"
I rushed over to them and asked urgently. Kania gave me a look of utter disbelief as she replied.
"...Seeing you say something like that, you really are the young master."
"Oh no, these wounds are pretty serious."
I brushed off Kania's words and hurried right up to her, only to spot the gash on her abdomen. I muttered helplessly, at a loss for what to do.
"Don't you have any healing potions? If we don't treat it right now, it'll get infected... First, we need to stop the bleeding..."
I scanned the surroundings for something to staunch Kania's wound, but then I noticed the injuries on Irina's body and the blackened mana circuits snaking across her skin. I pressed a hand to my forehead and groaned.
"This is driving me crazy."
Irina, who had been staring at me blankly, soon hung her head and whispered.
"Sorry... Frey... I..."
"It's fine. Forget it."
I didn't want to waste any more emotions on this. I cut her off hastily and glanced around as I spoke.
"First things first, let's get out of here. This place just... feels really off to me."
At my words, Kania and Irina's expressions hardened.
"No need for that. For now, we should just—"
I forced the two of them to their feet and started heading for the entrance, but then I spotted Aria lying unconscious nearby. With a sigh, I muttered.
"...Right, Aria was here too."
Honestly, I had no idea how to handle Aria anymore. She was sharp and still worried about me. If I treated her badly on purpose, she'd get suspicious. If I was nice, that would cause problems too.
"Kania, cast a sleep spell on Aria. Make sure she doesn't wake up for a while."
"Understood."
Kania approached Aria and gently stroked her hair. Aria's breathing soon grew steady and calm.
"Alright, let's get out of here. I can't stand being in this place any longer."
I hoisted Aria onto my back and led Kania and Irina out of the cave.
"...Young Master."
"What?"
As we neared the exit, Kania, who had been following quietly, asked in a low voice.
"That thing earlier... was it really magic?"
"Yeah, it was magic."
I scattered sparkling bursts of light from my hand and added with a smile.
"My mother used to cast it, in fact."
"...It's beautiful."
Kania watched in awe as the lights halted in midair and crystallized. But her expression soon grew grave again as she continued.
"Young Master, that room inside..."
"We'll talk about that later."
Her face was turning so serious that I cut her off firmly.
"But..."
"Sometimes you have to put things off, Kania."
"...Understood, Young Master."
She finally nodded silently at my resolve and headed toward the cave mouth without another word.
"So, what now?"
We emerged from the cave without incident. The rain had stopped, and as I surveyed the outside, I asked the two who were staring at me blankly.
"F-First... um..."
Irina, who had been avoiding my eyes, started stammering hesitantly.
"We should deal with Aria's situation first," Kania interjected, her face troubled as she broke her silence.
"I did cast a sleep spell on her, but the unexpected battle drained almost all my power, so it wasn't a strong one. She might wake up soon."
"Then..."
"Considering her condition and everything else... the best option is to take her back to the Starlight Duke's Mansion nearby. If she wakes up here again, it'll be trouble for me, Irina, and you, Young Master."
I nodded quietly in agreement. Kania approached Aria on my back and continued.
"So, I'll take her to the mansion myself."
"You sure? With how beat up you look, Cardia might worry..."
"Neither you nor Irina can go."
Kania took Aria from me, glanced between Irina and me, then sighed.
"And... Young Master, you'll need to stay here until tomorrow."
"What? Why?"
I blinked in confusion. Kania frowned as she explained.
"As I said, the battle left my black magic reserves empty, so casting concealment magic right now would be difficult."
"So you can't do it today?"
"Yes. My black magic should recover by tomorrow... I'll explain the situation to Aria at the mansion, then go meet Serena at the academy. Stay here for now, and I'll come back tomorrow morning to escort you."
I nodded as she spoke, but Irina, who had been hesitating, finally piped up quietly.
"I-I'll stay too..."
"Pardon?"
Kania scowled deeply.
"There's no need for you to stay, Irina."
"B-But Frey alone is dangerous. There are wild beasts, and he's still not fully recovered..."
"Didn't you see Young Master resolve everything in an instant with star mana?"
"Still, he's exhausted. It could be bad if something happens. So I'll stay until tomorrow."
Irina held firm. Kania shook her head in exasperation.
"No helping it, then. Your mind seems made up. Take good care of Young Master until tomorrow."
"Y-Yeah... I'll do my best..."
Under Kania's sharp glare, Irina flinched and stammered her reply.
"Young Master, I'll be off then."
Kania gave Irina a displeased look, hoisted Aria onto her back, and bowed to me.
"Yeah, take care of Aria..."
"...Mm."
As I smiled and waved her off, Aria stirred on Kania's back.
"Oppa... thank you..."
"!"
She murmured with a soft smile. I gasped in shock, but fortunately, no penalty window appeared.
"Looks like sleep-talking."
Kania, equally startled, sighed in relief. Meanwhile, I broke into a cold sweat, deep in thought.
I need to figure out how to erase Aria's worries soon...
Until now, I'd been systematically removing people who would be cursed by the impending system trial. Isolet still hated me, Serena had purged her 'worry' through repeated intimate moments with Kania, and Irina had received black magic implants in every corner of her mana circuits today—no issues there.
But Aria... I just couldn't see a way. If I was harsh, she'd suspect me over it. If I was kind, she'd drop her suspicions too easily.
The one silver lining was that she was growing 'weary' of trusting me. Even in her hazy consciousness when she collapsed from the headache earlier, she'd said she was tired of believing in me.
So, if just one more big incident happened... one more...
"Then, please take care."
"Ah, yeah. Got it."
Snapping out of my thoughts, I replied to Kania's farewell and decided to shelve the issue for now. It wasn't something I could solve immediately anyway.
"W-Well, then... let's head back to the secret base."
With Kania and Aria vanishing down the mountain, Irina glanced downward shyly and suggested.
I nodded, feeling a slight awkwardness, and we slowly made our way back to the secret base together.
"Oh no, the secret base is flooded."
We walked in silence for a while before reaching the base, but water had poured in through the wide-open door, turning it into a watery mess.
"Does this mean... we have to camp outside?"
I muttered, frowning at the sight. Irina, who had been watching me quietly, suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled me somewhere.
"H-Hey, where are we going?"
"...Just follow."
Her hand trembled slightly as it gripped my arm. I followed without protest.
Wait, why did Irina insist on staying earlier? She said I was in danger, but the secret base is impregnable unless it's me or her. And she couldn't have known it was flooded.
Lost in that trivial puzzle, I snapped back when Irina stopped.
"Ah, this place..."
I looked around and murmured softly.
"The riverbank where we always used to play?"
"Yeah."
Still awkward around me, she gave a curt reply, gathered scattered twigs from the ground, and started building a fire. I sat quietly, watching her.
"Ugh..."
But today, Irina—who usually ignited a blaze in seconds—was struggling. Concerned, I watched as she kept rubbing the sticks, occasionally glancing at me.
"Uh... need a hand?"
"N-No, it's fine... you sit."
She looked so pitiful that I stood to help, but she waved me off and rubbed harder.
"Irina!"
"Th-This is nothing... see?"
"No, your hand—look at it."
I'd sat back down to wait, but glanced at her hand and rushed over in alarm.
"...S-Sorry."
Her hand was scraped raw by the rough bark, blood trickling freely.
"Irina, you okay?"
I gripped her hand tightly and asked. She dropped her head weakly and muttered.
"Sorry... I'm really sorry..."
"Irina, you don't need to—"
I started to say she had no reason to feel guilty, but paused and eyed the twigs she'd gathered.
"...Forget it. I'll make the fire. You rest."
I spotted traces of black magic powder on the twigs—the secret to her quick fires—and chuckled.
"First, you wedge the twig in like this, right?"
I carefully positioned it as she used to demonstrate proudly long ago and rubbed vigorously, mimicking her.
"Y-You'll ruin your hand..."
Irina reached out worriedly, but—
Whoosh!
"Huh?"
The flames roared to life. She yanked her hand back, staring in bewilderment.
"How'd you do that?"
"Beats me?"
As she asked timidly, I mimicked her old smug face from back then, teasing her.
"...Ha."
She stared blankly, then spotted the star mana coating my stick and let out a small laugh—but her expression darkened again soon after.
"Hungry, Irina?"
I'd been fidgeting inwardly and casually asked now that evening had fallen.
"A little."
She avoided my gaze and replied softly. Grinning, I stood.
"Perfect timing—I'm starving too. I'll catch some fish."
She watched me head to the riverbank in a daze, then jumped up hurriedly.
"Idiot, you can't swim."
"How do you even remember that?"
I couldn't swim as a kid, but now it was easy. To humor her innocence, though, I chose another way.
Hm, how did Clana handle it when she attacked me?
Recalling Clana blasting lasers with solar mana from her fingertips, I gathered star mana at mine.
Zing!
Aiming my sparkling finger at the fish and releasing, a silver laser pierced one.
"Great, dinner's sorted."
I speared the floating fish with a long twig and turned casually to Irina, who was staring wide-eyed.
"Want a bite?"
From one to ten, I'd copied her old lines perfectly. She chuckled again and nodded.
"Alright, you fish 'em out with the twig. I'll focus on lasering."
I handed her the branch and, to train my magic affinity, blasted away at the river's fish.
"...Sigh."
Irina watched wistfully, but I ignored it for now.
......
"Here, how is it?"
As dusk settled and the sky darkened, I offered Irina a fish skewer with tense anticipation.
"Hm..."
She inspected it carefully, then took a cautious bite.
"...Not bad."
"Yes!"
Her eyes widened in praise. I whooped and grabbed my own skewer to devour.
"Today I beat you at fire-starting, fish-catching, and grilling?"
As we ate, I grinned slyly at her.
"Looks like it. Congrats."
"Congrats aren't enough—you gotta keep our old promise."
"Old promise?"
Her voice was hollow, so I put on a stern face and reminded her.
"Whoever wins all three tells a secret, remember?"
"Ah..."
Realization dawned; she sighed softly and glanced at me sidelong.
"No wiping your mouth—spill it."
I'd been dying to know this secret forever and prodded her eagerly.
"Actually..."
Hesitating, she looked away and whispered.
"...I made up the name 'Ice Dragon Fruit.'"
"What!?"
My eyes bulged. I stammered in shock.
"No way... I've believed that forever... Told all the other kids too... Wait, then in the Ashen Forest, when you suspected me..."
Plunged into panic even the system trials hadn't caused, I rambled before finally asking quietly.
"So... what's the real name?"
Looking a bit dopey, I pressed. She bowed her head and murmured.
"Puppy Love Fruit."
"Pfft."
The cute name—worlds apart from 'Ice Dragon'—made me burst out laughing. Her face flushed as she ducked her head.
"What? Did a puppy eat it and fall in love?"
"No, it's not—never mind."
I kept chuckling, and she started to explain but sighed and clammed up.
"........."
Silence stretched between us.
"Frey, I have something to say."
"Yeah, go ahead."
She spoke softly; I smiled and prompted her. She eyed me and dropped a bombshell.
"I... wanna quit the academy."
"What!?"
I gaped at her. She gazed at the sky and murmured.
"...And work as your maid instead."
Something must've been wrong with the fish I fed her.
......
Meanwhile, that same night in the back alleys.
"Hello! This the scroll shop, right?"
A girl in a purple robe pushed open the door to a shabby stall and peered around, asking.
"Hm~♪ Hm~♪"
"Hel-looo?"
A tune suddenly emanated from the empty counter. Frowning, she peeked behind it.
"Have ye ever pondered... if the world turns too contrived...?"
"More importantly, you're open, right? Ring this up, please."
She ignored the rambling shopkeeper staggering out with a bottle and thrust forward her scroll.
"That's 1500 gold... Pay up if ye can."
He eyed it closely, then cackled mockingly—but—
Snap!
"...This enough?"
"Exactly 1500 gold. Fine, take it."
The girl smirked faintly, turned, and headed for the door with a wave.
"See ya."
As she passed through the wide-open glass door, ruby-red eyes gleamed in its reflection.
"...Pfft. Heh."
Behind the counter, the shopkeeper snickered to himself, as if it were the funniest thing.